Enchanted Arms XBox 360

The Xbox 360's first Japanese RPG places you in the control of Atsuma, who early in his adventure manages to inadvertently open a seal which revives the fierce Devil Golem. You'll make use of Golem support characters as you work through the game's strategic battle system. The game has over 100 Golems which can be assembled using ingredient items. Characters can be customized using the "SP" experience points that you gain in battle. As the story develops, players face increasingly difficult challenges and learn to master Atsuma's special fighting and magical abilities.

Again, enough of the blurb! (Thanks to www.IGN.com for the 'blurb' on all my reviews!)

When the 360 was announced, one of the major selling points, in my humble opinion, was the plethora of RPG's that were promised. (That's 'Role Playing Games' for you newbies out there!)

Sadly, as you are probably aware, they have have been few and, well, one actually - Oblivion. Now don't get me wrong, I admire what Oblivion is, but in my eyes, it's not my type of RPG. I like Final Fantasy games immensely, much preferring the 'turn-based' battle system employed as opposed to the semi 'hack 'n' slash' of Oblivion. You can check my gamertag, but I did buy Oblivion, played it for 3 hours but wasn't hooked, and in my opinion, a good RPG will encourage you to forget whatever social/family life you have and allow you to immerse yourself in it's often weird and wonderful realm.

And this game does that, and more. If you are a fan of the Final Fantasy games (FF VII was the best in my opinion), you will thoroughly enjoy this.

It's a turn-based battle system, but with a twist, and I would say it's better than that employed with the Final Fantasy games. Battle takes place with your characters on a 4x4 grid, and your attacks vary from single square attacks to 'T' shaped, 'V' shaped and every other shape inbetween, which adds a quite significant degree of strategy to your battles.

The characters are typically Japanese, as is the storyline. And the graphics and attack sequences are superb.

As for difficulty, you will find that it's not too steep a learning curve, but new players may struggle initially until all the SP, AP, EP and Core systems 'click'. After that, it becomes easier, but NEVER too easy.

I completed this game in just over 60 hours, so it's not a weekend hire title, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute.

Well done Ubisoft for filling a woefully neglected niche market on the 360, and they have chosen a superb title to do it with.

Highly recommended, although I wouldn't imagine too many people re-playing this after completing it the first time.

If you liked any of the Final Fantasy games, do not hesitate to purchase this. If you adored Oblivion, I would suggest you try before you buy!